Architecture – August & September meetings

We meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2pm in the Lounge at the Congregational Church. In August, Trish introduced us to the architecture of many of the model villages that were built by philanthropists in the 18th and 19th centuries to provide housing and amenities for their workers and their families. I think many of us were surprised to learn that there are more than thirty such villages in the UK. During the afternoon, Trish took us to Milton Abbas, Dorset (1780); New Lanark, Scotland (1786); Blaise Hamlet, Gloucestershire (1811); Edensor, Derbyshire (1838); Saltaire, Yorkshire (1853); Bournville, West Midlands (1879); Port Sunlight, Cheshire (1888) and Bolsover, Derbyshire (1896). We completed our tour in the 20th century with a visit to Silver End Garden Village, Essex (1926). We finished the afternoon with something quite different when we visited the tourist village at Portmeirion, Wales (1925-1975) and Poundbury, Dorset (1993 to date). Our next meeting is on Tuesday, 26th September, when five of our members will each give a short talk on their favourite building. We will travel from The Pantheon to a favourite building in Lubenham via Dunedin (NZ) Railway Station, Tower Bridge and Tyntesfield. I am sure that there will be something of interest to everyone. New members are always very welcome. Please contact me if you are interested in joining the group. Peter Ellement.